The cosplay community might witness a new trend in cosplay soon; this one, surprising enough, involves dressing animals in cosplay outfits. Although few hotels and conventions allow pets to roam freely, you can probably find some outdoor spaces to might accommodate your furry friend.Certainly, that is what one man did when he attended Otakon 2011 and dressed his dog as Amaterasu from Okami.

I highly recommend reading this blog post on Practical Evil, because the author brings up some interesting points about animal cosplay and provides a step-by-step tutorial for the Amaterasu costume.Some of the things you must consider before embarking on an animal cosplay include: assessing the friendliness of your pet and his/her comfort in the costume, allowing time for rest throughout the day, and keeping your pet hydrated. You definitely would not want an aggressive or fearful animal roaming through crowds of strangers, but if your pet has the right temperament you should give animal cosplay some serious consideration! But please remember to consult with the convention center and hotel staff before bringing your pet to any anime convention!

Although I doubt this cosplay trend will pick up any time soon at my local anime conventions, there are certainly many other venues for animal cosplayers to showcase their costumes. Utilizing websites such as DeviantArt, Facebook, and Cosplay.com, there’s no reason why someone couldn’t share the awesomeness of their animal cosplayer from the comfort of their own home!